Emeriti Park, near Baker University Center, is the perfect place to relax on a nice day.
In 2000, Ohio University’s Emeriti Park enhanced the picturesque Athens Campus. Since then, the park’s beauty has only grown with the addition of plaques, trees and gardens memorializing former OHIO faculty and staff who have passed away.
During 2018’s On The Green Weekend , a new informational kiosk will be unveiled at the park to commemorate faculty with emeriti status and display a brief history of the park. Located at the south overlook of the park, the Charles and Harriet Carlson Information Kiosk will be dedicated on Saturday, May 19, at 10:30 a.m.
OHIO President M. Duane Nellis, President Emeritus Charles Ping and several esteemed members of the Emeriti Association, including Emeriti Association President Alan Boyd and Kiosk Committee Chair Richard Dean, will be in attendance. All members of the OHIO and Athens communities are welcome to join.
The kiosk will provide park goers the historical background to further appreciate the natural gem at the heart of campus.
“It’ll have a list of the Emeriti faculty, … it’ll have a history and … a little bit of the Emeriti Association but mostly of the park,” Boyd said. “It’ll also have a rolling set of pictures of the park in various seasons so people can see it over a period of time.”
Past Emeriti Association president and OHIO communications professor Charles Carlson and his wife, Harriet, played a key role in the development and fundraising of Emeriti Park. When he passed away in 2014, he left a gift to aid in the advancement and beautification of the park. The donation helped to create the informational kiosk and will allow the legacy of Ohio University Emeriti to endure for years to come.
Emeriti status is a special honor granted to individuals who have served the University for a minimum of 10 years and made significant contributions to both the University and Athens community. The faculty member’s department recommends the individual for this status, which is then passed to the president and finally, the Board of Trustees.
“Friends of the Emeriti” membership is open to other institutions’ emeriti who are a part of the OHIO community and individuals who have common interests of the association. The Membership Committee and Executive Board will approve the nominated individuals for this membership.